ATLAS of Religious or Belief Minority Rights

Description

Abstract

The ATLAS of Religious or Belief Minority Rights is a cross-disciplinary project that systematically maps and measures in a quantitative way the legal rights of religious or belief minorities (RBMs) across European Union (EU) Member States. Its aim is twofold: (1) to identify the rights available to RBMs in each State, and (2) to quantify and compare these rights, thereby enabling evidence-based policymaking and fostering equality and cohesion. 

The methodology combines legal, sociological and statistical approaches. Data were collected through thematic questionnaires on domains such as public schools, spiritual assistance, legal status, family and marriage and religious/belief symbols. National legal experts provided responses, which were validated and structured into indicators and clusters. These were then aggregated to build three indices: the P-Index (promotion and respect of rights), the E-Index (equal treatment among minorities) and the G-Index (majority-minority rights gap).

The project’s comparative and user-friendly outputs – which are available freely on the ATLAS website – highlight both protections and disparities across EU States, offering researchers, policymakers and RBM communities a robust tool for advancing equal treatment and combating discrimination.

Methods

The ATLAS currently covers 16 Member States[1] and 13 RBMs[2]. Its dual purpose is:

(i) Mapping: to systematically identify what rights RBMs possess in each EU State.

(ii) Measuring: to quantify these rights through evidence-based indices.

Methodological Overview

a. Definitional Framework

(i) Majority vs. Minority: the project classifies religious and belief communities based on population size thresholds, drawing primarily on data from the World Religion Database. States like Hungary (2011 census data) and Estonia, where no group exceeds fifty per cent of the population, are treated as having no religious majority.

(ii) Minority definition: aligned with the 2019 UN Special Rapporteur’s definition, a minority is a group that “constitutes less than half of the population in the entire territory of a State whose members share common characteristics of culture, religion or language, or a combination of any of these”. The ATLAS relied on this definition to identify the RBMs that were taken into consideration.

b. Data Collection

(i) The ATLAS team collected data via targeted questionnaires covering five key policy areas: Legal status, Public schools, Spiritual assistance (in prisons, healthcare, armed forces), Religious/Belief symbols, Marriage and family; and a special focus on Ritual slaughter and halal/kosher provisions.

(ii) These questionnaires were sent to well-known national legal experts in each covered State. Responses were meticulously reviewed to ensure consistency, accuracy and alignment with international legal standards. Where ambiguities arose, further clarification was sought, sometimes engaging additional experts.

c. Cluster Formation and Scores

(i) Responses were first converted into indicators and then assigned numerical values to quantify the respect and promotion of RBM rights. Within each policy area, related indicators were grouped into clusters addressing the same topic. Weighted averages were then used to produce two sets of scores: one for each policy area – indicating the State’s overall performance – and one for each cluster, reflecting the average of responses within that group. This approach enables a detailed and systematic assessment of how minority rights are respected and promoted across policy areas.

d. Index Construction

Using the indicators, the ATLAS calculates three core indices:

1) P‑Index (Promotion Index):

(i) it measures how laws promote or respect RBM rights per state (P-Index States) and per RBM (P-Index RBM).

(ii) Respect is a baseline (score = 0); promotion is positive (up to +1); restriction is negative (down to -1).

(iii) Includes scaled gradations when rights affect only parts of RBM groups (0.33 when promotion affects less than one-third, 0.66 when it covers up to two-thirds, and 1 when it extends beyond that – with corresponding negative values applied in cases of restrictions).

2) E‑Index (Equal Treatment Index):

(i) Assesses equality in treatment among RBMs within each Member State.

(ii) Each RBM receives +1 if a right is enjoyed, -1 if denied, highlighting potential disparities. As in the case of the P-index, the E-index makes it possible to assess the degree of equal treatment that each State ensures to the RBMs as a whole (E-Index States) and the degree of equal treatment that each RBM enjoys in a State in relation to all other RBMs (E-Index RBMs). 

3) G‑Index (Majority‑Minority Gap Index)

(i) Measures the distance between rights enjoyed by the religious majority and those held by minorities. It makes use of the same scoring system of the E-index concerning RBMs but it also takes also into account the majority (RBOs).

(ii) States without a majority religion (e.g., Estonia, Hungary) are omitted from G‑Index calculations. Similarly, in cases where a religious group is the majority, their G‑index data is excluded.

e. Masterplan, Matrix Creation and Data Visualization:

Once all numerical data were defined and validated, the following step was to organize and verify the assigned scores. A masterplan – an Excel file – was created for each policy area, listing the questions taken into consideration, the 16 States covered, and the 13 religious or belief organizations involved (RBOs). Each cell contains the relevant indicator (the answer) and its assigned score, while an additional column was included to record a brief description of the legal basis or reference supporting that assessment. After a thorough double-checking process to ensure accuracy and coherence, the ATLAS team generated a set of detailed matrices. These matrices contained only the verified scores and the corresponding weighted results for each indicator, cluster and policy area. The finalized matrices were then transmitted to a statistician, who consolidated them into the comprehensive dataset. Building on this dataset, a team of digital (ICT) specialists transformed the numerical results into interactive graphics and visual outputs, published on the ATLAS website. These visualizations provide a clear, accessible overview of the findings and allow users to explore the comparative performance of States and RBOs across all policy areas.

f. Data Storage:

All processed data are securely stored and managed by the ATLAS team in collaboration with the project statistician. The complete numerical record is preserved in the comprehensive master matrix, which consolidates every verified score, weighted result and indicator. This dataset serves as the central reference point for all subsequent analyses and ensures full traceability and transparency of the scoring process.

Technical info (English)

Official website of ATLAS of Religious or Belief Minority Rights: 

https://atlasminorityrights.eu/index.php

Contacs:

info@atlasminorityrights.eu

Series information (English)

Files provided (access available upon request):

5 Questionnaires: 

1. Questionnaire public schools;
2. Questionnaire legal status; 
3. Questionnaire marriage and family;
4. Questionnaire religious symbols;
5. Questionnaire spiritual assistance;

these contain the set of questions - which are the same for all the 16 EU Member States - that were sent to national legal experts. By basing on their asnwers, the ATLAS team assigned the scores and built the three indices.

5 Masterplans:

1. Masterplan public schools;
2. Masterplan legal status;
3. Masterplan marriage and family;
4. Masterplan religious symbols;
5. Masterplan spiritual assistance;

each Masterplan is an Excel file that systematizes all validated data for a given policy area. It includes the complete set of questions drawn from the corresponding Questionnaire files, the 16 EU Member States examined and the 13 religious or belief organizations (RBOs). For every question, the sheet records:

• • the indicator, summarizing the national expert’s response;
  • the score, displayed in a green cell next to each answer, ranging from –1 to +1 to reflect the degree of restriction or promotion of rights (see Methods → P-Index for further methodological details);
  • a reference column, specifying the legal basis or normative source that justifies the assigned score. 

This structure allows immediate cross-comparison among States and RBOs and ensures full traceability between each numerical value and its underlying legal justification.